Territory
by victimofmywoes
Summary: The man in question stiffened before turning around and fisting his hand in Naruto's shirt. "Don't you ask me about my day when a man publicly groped you. He touched you Naruto."


**Territory**

**A/N:** Beta'ed by 80X18 who also took special care to make some important suggestions!

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

The moment Uzumaki Naruto stepped out of the office building into the quiet evening, he knew it was going to be a bad. He didn't know what it was but there was something about it that gave Naruto the feeling that this evening was going to be bad.

And that was when it hit.

_He had forgotten his car keys on his desk on the fifteenth floor!_

He hit himself upside the head and pirouetted in the direction of the office. He moved two steps towards the direction of the office when he remembered the lift crashed.

Great, now he had to climb the fifteen set of stairs to retrieve them.

_Sixteen if you count the entrance stairs, _a small voice piped up in his head.

Being the lazy and short-tempered man that he was, Naruto dropped the idea of getting his keys and chose to walk in the direction of the bus stop which was just two miles ahead.

He just walked a few steps when a car in full speed came to a screeching halt next to him and a dark-haired man poked his head out and leered at him. In what Naruto assumed to be the driver's dreadful sexiest tone, he heard the man croon, "Need a ride hot-shot?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man and all but screamed, _NO_.

_What a jerk! _He thought wincing inwardly.

After a few moments of walking, he thought of giving Sasuke a call but he looked at the time and dismissed the idea with a slight drop of his shoulder.

_Sasuke's probably still busy with his meeting,_ he sighed wistfully at the thought of his lover. His lover, Uchiha Sasuke was currently presiding over some important business meeting on the other part of town.

_I should get home fast and probably make something for him since he's going to be late. As it is Sasuke hates to eat take-away, _mused Naruto, before shaking his head in amusement and hurried his pace.

_When he gets home I'll ask him how his day was and how his meeting went. He'll ask me about my day and I'll tell him about my accomplishments of the day and how much I tried to get him out of my mind and failed miserably at the endeavor. Yeah, that will surely put a grin on the bastard's pretty face. _

The smile on Naruto's face broadened to a full grin as an evil thought hit him.

_I'll tell Sasuke about this car incident as well. Knowing how possessive he is, it'll make him senile._

Naruto let out an evil chuckle that was lost in the sound of the traffic. Inner Naruto, however, rubbed his hands evilly and did a little tango.

In his mind's eye, he could picture the scenario perfectly with Sasuke's scowl deepening while Naruto explained the incident and then a moment later he would hear Sasuke growl and then his hands would—

An abrupt, loud shout jarred him out of his musings as a bike raced in his direction the two men seated on it catcalling Naruto.

_Whoa! What the hell was that?_

For a moment Naruto just stood rooted on the spot too disconcerted to move. Then he gave his head a little shake and moved in the direction of the bus stop.

_Fucking little dipshits and their crude comments, _he grit his teeth in frustration.

He decided to listen to his Ipod since it would really help to distract him from the leering gazes and the lewd comments thrown his way. As it turned out, it helped; he wove his way through the crowd to the bus stop, remaining oblivious to the hungry looks he was receiving from various people who ogled the sway of his butt.

Upon reaching the bus stop, he waited patiently all the time listening to his gadget. He shuffled some songs and rearranged his playlist as he stood in a quiet corner at the back.

After five minutes he consulted with his watch.

_Damn! Its 9.45 P.M already? I'm going to be late. Sasuke-bastard will grate me to death with millions of questions if I get home after him. _He tapped his ipod frustratingly against his palm and hoped the bus would come soon.

So lost was he in his music that it took him sometime to finally realize that a hand was roving on his backside. He turned so quickly in shock that he almost gave himself a whiplash. He glared at the man behind him, who wore the same leering gaze like the others, checking Naruto out.

The hungry eyes returned to meet a pair of stormy blue ones, with a blond eyebrow raised in question and annoyance.

The man spoke, "So shall we go? I'll pay you five thousand yen for the night."

Naruto glared at the man disbelievingly. "What did you just say? Do I look like a fucking hooker to you?"

The man backed off at the iciness in the gaze and strode off towards the other side of the stop.

_What the hell is it with these people? Do I look like a fucking hooker? Do I?_

He waited twenty more minutes but the bus just would not come. Cursing under his breath, he mulled over the pros and cons of taking a taxi.

_I think there's still enough time for me to get home. Sasuke said he won't be free till about 11. Huh, so enough time to get home and cook. And if I'm late, Sasuke will have to do the cooking, and it's going to be hell._

So the bus it is. He leaned against the pole behind him and let his mind lose itself in the intricate melody of the song he was listening to. His eyes stared longingly at the grey expanse of the road waiting, for the vehicle that would come to take him home.

Suddenly his phone buzzed jerking him out of his musings.

He read the name on the caller ID.

_Itachi? What the hell does he want?_

He slipped his phone open and in a puzzled voice asked, "Hi Itachi. What happened?"

In his monotonous voice that was laced with…wait, _was that anger? _ Itachi replied, "Naruto, what _exactly _are you doing at the bus stop near your office?"

Naruto raised his eyebrow and mocked Sasuke's elder brother, "Mister Monotone is talking with emotion in his voice? What exactly did you eat today Itachi?"

The monotone was back, clear of any emotion when Itachi replied, "You didn't answer the question Naruto."

"Oh! The icicle is back where it was last shoved, I see. Well to answer your question, I decided to take the bus today since I left my keys on my desk."

If Naruto hadn't known Itachi any better, he would have thought Itachi was trying very hard _not _to grit his teeth as he patiently waited for the other man to formulate a reply.

Finally Itachi spoke. "Fine, I'm coming to drop you home. Wait for me and while you are at it, protect your back since that place isn't safe."

_What the hell is __**that?**_

Naruto spoke in an amused voice. "Is that- Is that a _protective _tone Itachi? If I didn't know you any better, I'd say the Ice King is _how shall I put it? _Oh yes, getting angry and insanely protective of me?"

The mocking tone never failed to deliver the underlining message. Uzumaki Naruto was in fact making fun of the fabled and most feared Uchiha Itachi.

On the other side of the line, Uchiha Itachi really did grit his teeth in frustration at the tone used by his brother's stupid boyfriend.

_Damn you Naruto. If Sasuke didn't love you so much I swear to God, I'd have ripped you to pieces by now for possessing the ability to get under my skin. Don't you know the effect you have on people?_

He collected his thoughts and cleared his voice of all anger and possessiveness. "Think what you may Naruto, after all being stupid is your most prominent trait." He resisted the urge to snort and instead said, "Wait two minutes and I will be there."

The line went dead before Naruto could open his mouth and reply.

_What was wrong with Itachi? What was with that possessive tone? I hope Sasuke hasn't put him in-charge of protecting my ass. If that's the case it may spell trouble. __**Real Trouble.**_

He shook his head, surprised by the sudden bout of fear he felt in his belly. But he had to admit, an angry Sasuke was a health hazard.

The screech of tiers beside him jolted him out of his thoughts. He looked up at a stunning Porsche Carrera and the expressionless eyes of his boyfriend's brother.

Cursing his fate for choosing the wrong man for falling in love with, Naruto cast a nervous glance around him only to find stunned and glazed eyes staring at the car and at the man seated inside and rolled his eyes in disgust.

He silently moved towards the passenger seat and buckled his seatbelt without a word.

Itachi started the car and they drove for a few minutes in silence.

"Say Itachi, how did you know I was there at the bus stop?" Naruto asked quirking a questioning eyebrow at Itachi.

For his part, a slow smirk crept up Itachi's face. "Let's just say I have my sources."

_Sources. Ah. _The other eyebrow joined its partner that was already in the air.

"Would you care to name a few?" came back the challenging reply.

Itachi's dull eyes looked outright bored now. "There is nothing money can't buy. I hired a few people to take care of you."

The raised eyebrows lifted a shade higher followed by a cute pout.

"Damn you Itachi. I'm no kid. I can take care of myself. Besides it's not like someone was going to molest me."

For the fraction of a second, Itachi's hands tightened on the steering wheel but his facial expression gave nothing away.

"Then would you care to explain about the hand on your butt at the bus stop?" was all Itachi asked raising an eyebrow of his own in challenge.

_What the fuck? How the hell did Itachi know?_

_This is beginning to get scary because if Itachi knows then Sasuke is bound to learn of it sooner or later. And if Itachi knows about it then by now, he must also have the man's name and address that had placed his hand on my butt._

Naruto prayed silently for the molester's well-being.

_Come what may, Sasuke should __**not **__know about this! God up there, if you've ever loved me don't let this happen. I swear I will never pinch Sasuke's nose at night when his snores get too loud. _

But apparently, at that very moment Itachi's cell chose to ring. Without even looking at the caller ID Itachi spoke, "Yeah Kisame. Found some Intel on the man? Hidan you say his name is? Hn…"

He hung up without saying anything else.

Instead, he chose to turn towards Naruto and smirk. "We found out about the man who attempted to molest you at the bus stop."

Naruto rolled his eyes heavenward and said "Cut it out Itachi. He just touched my butt. Why the hell does that have to become tomorrow's headline? You're making it sound like he raped me or something."

He turned to the window and absently rubbed his temples where a headache was beginning to settle in. As an afterthought he added, "And don't let Sasuke know about this."

Had Itachi been a lesser man, he would have laughed his lungs out at this. But being the stern Uchiha that he was, all that escaped him was a slight twitch of his lips.

_Fuck me if he hasn't already guessed._

The twitch of the lips was not lost on Naruto. With an undignified shriek he pointed at Itachi. "You told him, didn't you? You bastard," he spat.

It took at the muscles of Itachi's face a Herculean effort not split into an evil grin. Instead, he schooled his expressions to one of lightly amused with a smirk settling on his lips as he turned towards Naruto.

"Sasuke is on his way home."

_Shit! Shit! Shit! _Was all Naruto's mind could think of.

He was royally screwed.

There was no way in hell Sasuke would live this down.

Wolf-whistling and catcalling were okay until a certain limit but Naruto knew anyone touching him except Sasuke was out of bounds.

It was taboo, practically a felony.

He thought of the last guy who touched his ass. Sasuke certainly made sure the guy was left without fingers for the sake of "Prevention of Future groping".

And now this Hidan guy was officially _dead._

_Oh man, what did I do to deserve this? _He worried his bottom lip between his teeth.

Squelching the urge to throttle the man beside him into oblivion, Naruto clenched his fists into his lap and grit his teeth in a meek attempt to calm down.

He turned to Itachi and asked, "Why did you hire people to take care of me?"

When Itachi didn't answer, Naruto goaded him some more. "What are you, Sasuke's pet dog?"

Instead of the anticipated reaction, Itachi just gave him an amused smirk and still did not answer.

Naruto huffed in defeat. He had to think of some other way to get under this man's skin.

He leaned towards Itachi and whispered, "Please Itachi. Don't let Sasuke hurt the guy. He didn't know who he touched."

For a moment Itachi was lost.

_If he is going to be this close to me I might just lose my sanity, _thought Itachi.

Then his iron control was back, telling him about Naruto's position in his life.

_He's no one to me but my brother's love._

The expressionless mask was back and Itachi said in a matter-of-fact tone, "It's not in my hands. Sasuke is the one to decide what will happen."

Naruto sat back in his seat, defeated beyond measure.

_There is no way out now._

The ride from then which would normally have taken twenty minutes somehow ended a little too quickly for Naruto.

_Looks like I have just run out of time._

He stepped out gingerly from the car and thanked Itachi for the ride home.

He took small steps to his apartment trying to buy himself some time.

On the way he thought of the million things that were raging like a storm in his head.

_If Sasuke knows then why the hell didn't he call?_

Shrugging without so much as to a clue of the answer, he unlocked his apartment door only to find his lover standing by the windows with his back to Naruto. Sasuke's hands were in his trouser pockets and his back was ramrod straight with tension.

Sighing softly he made his way towards Sasuke. Putting his arms around the taller raven, Naruto whispered, "Hey Sasuke how was your day?"

The man in question stiffened before turning around and fisting his hand in Naruto's shirt. "Don't you ask me about my day when a man publicly groped you. He _touched _you Naruto."

Naruto pulled his shirt free from his grasp. "So what Sasuke? He didn't know who I was. C'mon man I don't carry a board attached to my chest that says '_Property of Uchiha Sasuke'_ do I? Get a grip! He just did it accidentally."

"Nothing was accidental in the way he leered at you was it?" A scowl made its way on the handsome features as he spoke. "I want to know everything. From the beginning. Start from the time you left your office."

_Sasuke looks ready to bite my head off. I'd better skip out the catcalls and the car incident._

As if reading his thoughts, Sasuke spoke, "And you better not leave one bit out of it or I swear to God, I will do something worse than I had planned to your molester."

"Oh for the millionth time, he was not my molester. He thought I was somebody else and touched my butt...I don't understand why you and Itachi have to go on calling him that!" Naruto cried out in exasperation.

Taking a deep breath, he began telling Sasuke all that had transpired from the moment he had stepped out of the office. "…And then that's when Itachi found me and drove me here."

Sasuke was shaking with anger by this point. His face had turned red with the effort of biting back every word that was begging to lash out at Naruto.

"Of all the things in the world, why the hell did you decide to take the bus?" he finally managed to bite out.

Naruto gave him an its-so-obvious look. "Because my keys were left on my desk in the office and the lift crashed."

"Damnit if you were so lazy to go and retrieve your keys you should have called anyone of us to come and pick you up," Sasuke reasoned out. "Anyone would have come. Hell even Neji would have come to pick _you _up."

Naruto grimaced at Neji's name, recalling some ugly scenes from the past that involved a gruesome fist fight in the backroom of a bar over Sasuke. Neji was _so _sure that he would be successful in his quest of courting Sasuke that he's been unable to cope with the fact that Sasuke chose Naruto over him.

At this, the blond eyebrows rose, throwing Sasuke a little off balance. He narrowed his eyes and said, "But I didn't. I felt like walking all the way to the bus stop. And so I did. And fuck me if I'll let you make a bigger scene out of this."

_I knew it; the moment I stepped out of the office I knew this evening was going to be horrible. Oh God, just don't ruin it anymore._

He walked towards Sasuke and once again put his arms around the taller man. "Look Sasuke about what happened today, I'm sorry. I promise I will never take the bus ever in my life. Just don't stay mad at me anymore. And don't hurt Hidan. Please."

When Sasuke refused to answer he pressed some more, "I promise! Hell, I'll call Neji if required."

_That did it._

With a low growl, Sasuke finally snapped. With an abrupt force, he pulled Naruto to himself and kissed him ferociously, nipping his lower lip and sucking on it. The kiss was supposed to be hot and punishing but Naruto wrapped his arms tightly around his lover and kissed back with the same intensity.

When he pulled back Naruto touched his bleeding lip with a small frown. "What the hell was that for Sasuke?"

In return Sasuke gave him a smirk and said, "This is my territorial mark. You belong to _me_. Now come here if you want more."

With that Uchiha Sasuke turned in the direction of the bedroom and strode off leaving Naruto staring after him.

Quietly, Naruto pondered the pros and cons of following the raven. After a few seconds all thoughts fled his mind when Sasuke appeared on the bedroom door clad in nothing but his boxers with a suggestive look in his eyes and a pair of furry handcuffs held loosely in his hands.

The dark eyebrows lifted, "You coming?"

Absentmindedly Naruto replied, "Now?"

_Do I really want more marks of ownership on me? Now?_

_Hell yeah!_

"On the other hand, when is there a better time than now?" he rhetorically asked as he ran towards the bedroom.


End file.
